▸This is a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) trajectory.
- At 400 km altitude the satellite travels at 7.672 km/s and completes one orbit in 1 h 32 min.
- It circles Earth 15.58 times per 24-hour day.
- To escape Earth gravity from this altitude, the satellite would need to accelerate to 10.850 km/s - the escape velocity.
- LEO hosts the ISS, most Earth-observation satellites, and the Starlink constellation. Short round-trip signal delay of ~5 ms makes it ideal for broadband internet.
Next stepIncreasing altitude lowers orbital speed but extends the period. Geostationary orbit at 35,786 km has a period of exactly 24 hours.